"Don't like it? Don't buy it!"

[@AlteredNova04]

I have a friend who told me "if you don't like it, just don't buy it" when I complained about the constant product overload. So I took his advice. Now he complains that my decks are boring because I haven't bought any new cards for almost 3 years lol.

[@BatCaveOz]

Based. 👍

[@RedBobcatGames]

Haha, that's the way to go it seems

[@RockmeHellsing]

this is literally what i did too. havent bough crad since the set explosion 2021

[@The3rdGraySky]

I did the same thing.

[@jackalcoyote8777]

A "friend"

[@ClubbingSealCub]

'vote with your wallet' doesn't work when whaley mchwaleinson's vote counts ten thousand times what mine does

[@bumfricker2487]

welcome to capitalism, where "vote with your wallet" was long ago decided as the fairest kind of democracy...by the people with the biggest wallets

[@maxscherzer9521]

Whaley Mchwaleinson won't enjoy the game so much when nobody else is still playing.

[@tc5589-1]

Yours definitely still counts.

[@ClubbingSealCub]

@maxscherzer9521 it's such a shame wizards listens to him over 10000 people like me

[@sandwichboy1268]

So stop voting with your time.

[@Zaelkrie]

Company: Please don't buy our products. Okay then.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Haha, preach!

[@Azeria]

‘If you don’t like it, don’t buy it’ works in exactly one context: limited play like draft, sealed, and cube. That’s it.

[@easyygo3008]

If enough people is not buying it, they will drop it. If it sells, there is a market, if there is a market and you don't like the direction, stop playing. Complaining on the Internet, achieves nothing; sales numbers talk, not tantrums on internet.

[@RedBobcatGames]

@easyygo3008 If there were no connection between sales numbers and community sentiment, you wouldn't see so many so many companies trying to pay for positive reviews of a product. Marketing is such big business because it works

[@JuniperHatesTwitterlikeHandles]

I was literally just about to make a comment that wizards just assumes everyone is playing cube or magical christmas land commander where communication within a playgroup is always perfect.

[@idanbhk3875]

@@easyygo3008 You absolute wanker. Complaining (on the internet or otherwise) is meant to show that you care. That you want to quit if things stay as they are now, and therefore telling WotC "I'm one of the voices that would pay for this, but not for that, take me into account when choosing what you do". Not to mention the possibility to convince someone else to also vote with their wallet, making a change not only by yourself but as a community.

[@SwedeRacerDC]

​@@easyygo3008 Dude, you literally skipped over the part where if all you have to say is basically stop talking, then you're doing exactly what you have a problem with. You're complaining about complaining. Why should anyone take hypocritical advice? People are annoyed, but unfortunately, too many keep buying the most of these products so that WotC just keeps cranking out the problems. Eventually the game will dwindle down in popularity and they'll have to figure out why when it's too late. And just because we're complaining on the Internet doesn't mean we're not also using our wallet. I haven't bought a single secret lair, I barely bought any product at all in 2024 resorting mostly to getting singles.

[@kristianfagerstrom7011]

The point that WotC is ignoring is that "You don't have to play with it" is a false statement. You do not have to put the card into your deck, but in a game of magic, all the cards in the decks are part of the game. You are playing with your opponent, therefore you do "have" to play with "it" if your opponent uses the card in their deck.

[@crusaderpenguin5326]

I keep making this point as well. Competitive players are gonna gravitate towards the strongest cards, always, so you know you'll see some UB cards basically every round of a major tournament now (because of course WOTC will make them broken to drive sales). Even for the casual scene, try getting everyone in a Commander group to play only with MTG-lore (non UB cards). Probably possible but very limiting to the number of people you can find for your group.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, 100%

[@SpellSlinger07]

Finally i hear someone say it! I've heard the same thing mutiple times, but in a way i am forced to play with the cards because my opponent can still play with them. I really wish they would make something like a Universes Within and a Universes Beyond format maybe

[@the_step_dan323]

i left my own comment touching on this and several other issues i have w/ this "philosophy", but i agree. Many people might say that you can just ask them to play w/o UB in casual formats like EDH but even then it's not that simple bc, for one, they might not remember every card in their deck or if it has UB or a card from whichever set, OR they might only have one deck option OR no cards they can swap in or so many possibilities that you just cant consistently rely on just "asking your opppnents nicely"

[@weebly_]

@@crusaderpenguin5326 You're going to buy 4 singles of SpongeBob, Jellyfisher for standard and you're going to like it.

[@gnogara]

"Don't like it, don't buy it. You don't have to interact with it." Cool I don't take two from this draw then, since I don't have to interact with your Sheoldred

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, it just doesn't work

[@mikotagayuna8494]

After 30+ years, Wizards hasn't learned that the MtG community is an ecosystem, not a buffet. Everything will inevitably affect everyone until everyone decides to leave.

[@RedBobcatGames]

100%, you're spot on

[@goosewithagibus]

They don't actually believe what they say, they're just saying it to try and put out fires.

[@fwop7436]

I think it's better to have a community that voices complains, compared to a community that is complacent.

[@RedBobcatGames]

100% agree

[@jamesstewart7784]

"you don't have to buy it. You don't have to play with it. Just abandon playing standard/commander/any format"

[@valeckseimu3132]

FleshNBlood join the chat 😅

[@isambo400]

Chef Chef calls you home

[@RedBobcatGames]

I suspect kitchen table magic is the future

[@spectral_force5097]

Sorcery: Contested Realm joins the chat

[@Slick_Tails]

I really struggle to understand how people can unironically say "if you don't like it, don't play it" in a multiplayer-focused game where other players' choices have a huge impact on your experience. Not to mention, as you said, it's not possible to know for certain if you will or won't like something in advance. Some things might surprise you. Some things might seem great at first but quickly become stale. Some things might grow on you as time goes on. It's simply not possible to anticipate these things.

[@yurisei6732]

It's because they're solitaire players. They're the type who doesn't really pay any attention to their opponent or their deck. They don't really understand why anyone might have a problem with what someone else plays - unless of course they play a deck that prevents their deck working, then they're very liberal with the ban requests.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, like I feel bad about how hard I went in this video. But "If you don't like it, don't play it" is just the same as being told to shut up and quit the game to me

[@Kylora2112]

I mostly play Modern and Yugioh!. LotR (because of Orcish Bowmasters and The One Ring) and MH3 just decimated the format. Trying to make cards relevant in an eternal format means you have to have some serious powercreep. I'm used to it in Yugioh!, where we get a new Tier 1 deck every other set and it's been that way for 22 years, but Magic just isn't designed for that. Designing for Commander is going to kill Magic.

[@funa.]

@@Kylora2112 Tier 1 (1 to maybe 4 decks) feel like a fun boss challenge for rogue decks in design. Also eternal means sometimes an ancient card becomes playable cause interactions. I think Nibiru (destroying 5 monsters cause summoning) cannot exist in MTG, This is how YGO deals with power creep

[@Kylora2112]

@@funa. Trident Dragion went from being a $5 card no one played and only had one reprint (and nothing since 2014) to shooting up to $100 because of Tenpai Dragons, a deck that specialized in summoning FIRE dragon synchro monsters (and back down to $6 after getting a reprint this fall). Stuff like this happens all the time. And it's funny...most Yugioh! rogue decks are simply 2-3 years behind the power curve of the game. My Marincess deck from 2022 (a Tier 2/rogue deck after getting legacy support for its 2019 debut) would have been on-par with anything from 2019, and dominated almost anything released prior). Most Yugioh hand traps can't exist in Magic. The reason they're good is because they're free and you can use them on Turn 0, and almost everything in Yugioh is generic (I don't need to play FIRE/zombies to drop an Ash Blossom), so it's all modular and their effects stop core parts of the game.

[@chasestivers7214]

If only these sets weren’t designed to constantly raise the bar of power. Meaning that eventually you will need to buy the new cards.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, 100%. Power creep is a massive issue

[@Kylora2112]

Commander becoming the de facto new Standard format means they need to keep shoveling out more and more and stronger and stronger cards to keep people buying cards. Standard as the standard means people are tweaking their decks every few months and building a new deck every few years. Powercreep in eternal formats means you need to keep buying every single set.

[@funa.]

i guess, too fast releases was not planned in the 3 year set rotation. Also not sure if there are counterspells for too strong cards, which would work in eternal format with (a more)lack of ban lists.

[@tonkdumbledonk]

Feels good to have someone like Red actually talking about these problems with MTG. As someone who grew up with it, playing shitty piles of kamigawa, lorywyn and whatever else I could get my hands on, it sucks to see what MTG is now. I took a long break from the game, thinking it just wasn't my thing anymore. But I've come to realize I really do love MTG. I love the game, most of the mechanics, the unique and interesting worlds they used to have, the old art. Getting back into MTG and looking at the massive amount of products, and just being disappointed with what they've done story and lore wise. I've felt like a crazy person seeing everyone else eat it up lmao. Thanks Red.

[@RedBobcatGames]

No no, thank you. It's nice to know I'm not alone

[@vincentlance]

The vast majority of Secret Lairs and UB did used to be quite avoidable outside of Commander. Likewise a Standard grinder could ignore Modern Horizon sets entirely. The new 50/50 IP split all in Standard (and therefore all eternal formats) is beyond the pale but the phrase "this product isn't for you" used to have some meaning.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, totally

[@leadpaintchips9461]

I mean, we've seen what happens with 'vote with your wallet' with video games. Those people who actually can 'not buy' the things with issues because of their self control will eventually run out of things to buy. The whales and people who don't give a damn about the overall health of the game, or the playerbase, just consume.

[@tc5589-1]

I don’t know about you but my transition to indie video games has made my video game experience much better than the AAA games this last decade. Magic is simply about to give me that same feeling when I switch to flesh and blood or sorcery or whatever.

[@innocentsmith6091]

What does it even mean to run out of things to buy? You don't need video games to live. If you find it difficult to avoid buying video games, seek therapy immediately. Also, our wallets voted Concord into oblivion, for just one easy example.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Well I would never suggest piracy in that situation...

[@qwerqwer-rt8wm]

​@@innocentsmith6091 no they didn't because there has never been any such thing as voting with anything except a ballot. capitalism is not democratic.

[@leadpaintchips9461]

@@innocentsmith6091 What I mean about running out of things to buy is how swiftly full priced games have 'microtransactions' that are the price of indie games have risen. The amount of day 1 DLCs and 'pay for convenience' transactions. There was an outcry against that, where a lot of people were railing against it. Despite that though, people were buying these games. Our wallets didn't vote Concord into oblivion, their marketing department did. Also a counterpoint, Fortnite did exactly what people are accusing MtG of doing, and it's _still_ making stupid amounts of money despite every discussion around it being degrading towards the game, and having all but one of my playgroup just moving on.

[@Thoughtmage100]

The release of Universe Beyond content will continue until morale improves. 😮‍💨

[@RedBobcatGames]

Haha, very good

[@the_step_dan323]

. . . or until all morale is lost and MTG becomes the Super Smash Bros of card games that is funded by the whales, but i do hope you're right

[@Xineombine]

@@the_step_dan323 I would have said the Fortnite of Card games, but at least the out of universe additions to Fortnite don't shatter it's core functionality and aren't effectively mandatory...

[@peterdafox]

Holy shit. God that first minute was cathartic.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Haha, you're welcome?

[@MichaelB-jw5po]

"If you don't like it, don't buy it" is exactly the reason why I haven't bought any MTG product in about 8 years despite formerly being a massive collector

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, that's both positive for you and also the thought of it kinda makes me sad. Like, I suspect I'm on the same track as you, but I like the game and I don't want to have to give it up. You know?

[@Knokkelman]

I played from 4. Edition till Mirrodin and somehow got sucked in again when the Dominaria United story started (and I realized how much some of my old cards are worth now). And sometimes I wonder if it's my fault that everything when to shit faster and faster since then, cause I seem to have a talent to pick the exact worst moment to get into something, be it stocks or cryptocurrency, before it collapses. Sorry, I guess -_-

[@spilledpizza]

Honestly I was fine seeing 1-2 cards from a UB secret lair(my main “Don’t like it”) every now and then, but the fact by the end of this year someone could sit across from me with an entire commander deck(or almost guaranteed, standard) entirely of cards not from the MtG Universe and function synergistically really gets to me.

[@sulfuricanaljuice3994]

I bet you feel the same way about foreigners, bigot

[@sulfuricanaljuice3994]

I bet you feel the same way about foreigners, you bigot

[@RedBobcatGames]

You're not alone either

[@barryswigart1432]

Do not think. Consume do not think. If you no consume, no consume. Me consume. Only no think can consume.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Pretty much, yeah

[@chloeann55]

Telling me to “just skip the spiderman set” is like telling a spider man fan “just skip the next teletubbies-spiderman movie”

[@RedBobcatGames]

It's required watching for the next Avenegers film

[@chloeann55]

@@RedBobcatGames Yes and very much canonical

[@matrixshaman6652]

A Dead by Daylight dev said it best: If your community is complaining, that means they care. If they go silent, you should be worried. (paraphrasing ofc)

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oooh, very true. Very true

[@nateguiger2641]

We're stuck dealing with a culture full of vacuously skulled consumers that are so without any meaningful sense of taste that every possible version of a product is equal to them. And at that point I see no reason not to simply impose my preferred version of things on them. They clearly cannot tell the difference anyway, I couldn't cause them harm if I wished to!

[@RedBobcatGames]

That sounds like the "seatbelts in cars" argument. As long as it's for their betterment, sometimes people do need to be told what to do. VERY thin line there of course, so can be dangerous ground

[@camfunme]

Magic is a game that revolves around knowing what cards exist in a format, what your opponent is playing, what they could be playing, and when they do play a card exactly how the nuances of the rules in this context so you can either play around it, or understand the context of what will happen when a card resolves. Magic is about proactively thinking about what cards you're likely to see and play against when you go to the local gamestore, or a tournament, play or your local playgroup, and how to pre-emptively design your deck to both interact favourably against what they could do and/or not just be completely stone-walled by something they could do. Magic is about reactively thinking about past games, and flaws in your deck designs and how you can change them to better position themselves to win, or have more fun in the attempt. But in order to do any of these you need to be acutely aware of every or almost every card available to both you and your opponents, and how the rules interact with them. You can't just turn up, pretend they don't exist and play (or at least do so and intend to win and/or have more fun than just playing solitaire). P.S. I lost my first modern game on turn 2 to a card I didn't know existed, played in a way that I couldn't predict with my 10 years of magic experience (cycle Street Wraith for 2 life). I can't even fathom how many such unknown cards and interactions will exist if I "skip the parts of magic that aren't for me".

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, my point exactly. So how often I'm hearing people say to skip sets is really frustrating. Hence the video haha

[@edwarde8703]

Another aspect of the product overload that I think bears consideration is that the increased pace of releases has meant that product becomes quickly unavailable once release has passed. When Lost Caverns of Ixalan dropped I was keen on the merfolk commander deck, but had other bills and costs to pay for so couldn’t preorder or buy on release. When I was in a place where I had a bit of money free for magic I couldn’t find a copy of that deck even on the secondary market. I could still find sealed Ikoria commander decks in some game stores or on secondary resellers almost 4 years after that set released but could find a commander deck for a set that released a year ago. And maybe this is a country specific thing, I’m based in New Zealand but my experience in the last year of magic especially has been that the constant release schedule means that the print run for sets is smaller or stores are ordered less and if you don’t get in when a set releases, then you miss out, which sucks when this uptick in releases coincides with an economic downturn that means i need to be more deliberate about how and when I spent money.

[@RedBobcatGames]

It's even worse for some of their "premium" sets where a store will maybe only get 1 or 2 of them in total. You're right, and this all leads into accessibility. It all feeds into the next issue

[@Volkbrecht]

In theory that would be where the T in TCG comes to bear: instead of buying the decks at release, you could always build them later, buying the singles or trading for them. That is, if you are lucky and the deck you are trying to copy didn't have any chase cards in them, which is usually the reason why they sell so fast in the first place. For me, all the little feel-bads have now reached the point where I opted out of Constructed. I'll keep a bit of Jumpstart around for friends when they visit, and play pre-releases of sets that look good. But that's about it.

[@Mirthful_Midori]

The problem with keeping the printers running all the time is that they're virtually never available for reprints. I remember thinking of that when people were struggling to get the Warhammer 40K decks and it's only gotten worse since then.

[@TangleTrail]

With everything that's been going on in the last few months, and realizing that I only play commander/ non-competitive, I've decided to hang up my wallet. Proxies forevermore

[@RedBobcatGames]

That and kitchen table magic are the future I think

[@NightMareArchon]

Welcome to my brand new magic format: universes within. This is a new type of *meta* format that gets added onto any other format where all cards featuring outside IP, and any secret lair exclusives are added to the existing banlist for the chosen format.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Can we also just ban all Secret Lairs, especially the ones that don't even look like regular Magic cards?

[@XenithShadow]

​@RedBobcatGames considering they are actually in universe cards probably not. Even then banning non secret lair universe beyond cards is extremely elitist as I have heard signifinat portion of commander players use the universe beyond precons.

[@NightMareArchon]

@@XenithShadowit’s not “elitist” it’s simply refusing to engage with the parts of the game I don’t enjoy, feel free to not play universes within.

[@chloeann55]

@@XenithShadow hey its not elitism that I don’t want to play against the spiderman precons. If you don’t like universes within don’t play the format.

[@joelhatterini6392]

I don't like it and I don't buy it, doesn't change the fact that every week I need to sit in a commander pod where we have Warhammer 40k Necrons vs The Eleventh Doctor vs Fallout Mutants.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yup, completely

[@JShann04]

Well, clearly it's not that offensive to you, since you go each week anyway. If it was as bad as your whining makes it out to be, then you'd either, find another pod that aligns with your views, or stop playing. But you're enduring it, so it's clearly not bad enough for you to do anything more than whine in youtube comments about it.

[@skelskeleton]

​@@JShann04 Yeah sorry I don't like fighting optimus prime and (soon to be) spongebob in my fantasy card game, refer to the video

[@JShann04]

@@skelskeleton But you don't seem to dislike it enough to make you stop playing. It's clearly not even enough for you to find a group of people who match with your opinions that you all agree to not play those decks. You're still going to the same games and acting like you expect things to change. News flash, they won't change because sitting around bitching about it isn't actually doing anything to enact change. All I see are people sitting around pissing and moaning, but none seem actually prepared to make any form of personal sacrifice or any effort at all to do anything that would facilitate change.

[@mfsoab]

The only occasion that I use this kind of argument is when one of my, non-competetive playing, buddies is caught up in company and social media induced FOMO again. So it's less of "stop criticizing" and more in a "you don't need to sell a kidney to have the newest cool shite, the things you have are working perfectly fine" kind of way.

[@RedBobcatGames]

You know what, I didn't consider that angle but you're completely right

[@Mobius_ll]

I only started in Brothers War and quickly moved to Commander as my main play. When I heard the sentiment "Not every product is for you" sentiment from Wizards my first thought was "Bullshit". Their most popular format is basically all sets legal with 4 players, who DOESNT get affected? This idiotic statement serves them 2 purposes: the first being a distraction from the release schedule and power creep engine, the second being a reassurance to the whales they will keep delivering.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, it's maddness honestly

[@SilverCyan]

"don't like it, don't buy it" is the first step on the road to "why is no one buying anything we make"

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, completely. It's madness

[@KILOBify]

"Don't like it, don't buy it" doesn't mean shit when investors and whales make up the majority of purchases. Lord of the Rings isn't the most cracked set because it's the most fun or well designed. It's because investors stand to make the most money.

[@jkdeadite]

I started playing Magic in year 3, so I've seen a lot of change. The game has generally gotten better over time, so I'm open minded to changes now (I wasn't when I was younger). After the last few years, all my friends who play have basically dipped because they can't keep up. As a result, I now play Brawl by myself, and I've built a cube to play with my friends on those rare occasions they don't want to play a board game instead. I went from spending several hundred or even a couple thousand a year on the game to buying a few singles to add to the cube.

[@RedBobcatGames]

And I imagine you won't be the only one like that either

[@TheJeffersW]

So many people use the "if you don't like it, just don't buy it" line for everything, not just card games. Often coupled with other clichés like "let people enjoy things". But the second something they don't like is announced, THEIR criticism is important and" valid", and we all need to listen and discuss it. Agree or disagree with others criticisms, they should be allowed to make their case without being so casually dismissed. You can evaluate the validity of their claims, and sometimes criticism is genuinely nonsensical or not applicable. But we can't keep dismissing things off hands under the guise of "positivity" or "community" or whatever buzzword is justifying the latest corporate decision. Let people hate things.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oh yes, 100% agree

[@CyrusdVulture]

I ended up playing against an Iron Man EDH deck the other day and I was not happy having to interact with it. The only way to avoid it would be to stop playing, but I don't want to do that. Universes Beyond was a mistake that will never be fixed because it *sells*

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, and it sucks. They're not even printing Universes Within cards anymore either

[@CyrusdVulture]

@@RedBobcatGames At least with EDH we can rule 0 things.

[@luminous3558]

@@CyrusdVulture Only until you get rule 0'd instead. If everyone plays with UB cards because they help their subpar commander perform better then slowly less and less people will want to agree to not run any. Especially with whole sets of new cards being entirely UB with no UW alternative. "No cards from the last 2 sets" is suddenly a much bigger ask than not running the cards from the walking dead secret lair.

[@CyrusdVulture]

@luminous3558 less of a reason to rule 0 a legitimately made deck than there is to rule 0 the money grabbing cards that don't fit the game.

[@simonchi5372]

Just seems to me like they are trying to fleece addicted people of all their money. Along with tricking unknowing people of other fandoms into buying fomo products for way too much of what it actually cost to produce. It's pretty disgusting.

[@the_step_dan323]

and ofc lets not forget value boosters!! what a great scam that one is am i right!!(screw WoTC, they're a load of bs)

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yup, pretty much

[@RoffelKartoffel00]

I personally am starting to think after beeing told 'This product isn't for you' that this game isn't for me

[@davidhouseman4328]

If it all product then it isn't. But the point of the phrase is that your complaining about specific sets.

[@RedBobcatGames]

There's only so often you can be told "This isn't for you" and it seems to be being said about more and more sets

[@morganfreeman-sheehy842]

My play group all agreed that we're not going to use UB stuff except Lord of the Rings, and we already play with price limits on our decks so most of this stuff will straight up not hit our table. But next year, that means we won't even be able to go to the prereleases. I loved the prereleases. I loved getting immersed in and excited for a setting, learning how this set plays. And now there is 1 (One) singular set that's coming out next year that is interesting to me.

[@EbonAvatar]

The problem for me (and many others) is that I DON'T have a playgroup like this. I primarily play Magic during game nights at the game store. So I'm forced to interact with all these cards even if I don't want to and wouldn't buy them myself. It really sucks.

[@jmoney9494]

I was so excited to buy collector packs of final fantasy to maybe finally get into commander instead of standard, not to be forced to play them in standard. Standard is already too damn expensive and UB makes it even worse

[@yurisei6732]

Same with draft. Most stores only draft the most recent standard set, which means in 2025 there could be as few as 7 weeks during which I can draft a fun set without having to organise my own pod, since Aetherdrift and Star Wars are functionally UB too.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Many people will be in this exact same boat. 2025's going to be really interesting to watch at least

[@VincentAlucard]

There're 2 points I would like to make: 1. We're a small fraction of MTG playerbase, our complaints will almost certainly fall short behind *sales*. 2. I've personally come to terms with the fact that my opinion (my bottom line if you will) won't matter. Whenever I see someone complaining to MaRo (I used to do it even), he usually pulls out their famous Market Research, which is something we can't argue against. As Rhystic Studies elegantly puts it: "we were lectured about invisible people who care about Magic beyond our little internet bubbles. The gas burns brightest from street lamps just above your wary head." The game needs new blood, and selling cardboard Funko Pops seems to be the chosen way. Old players' opinions (legitimate or not) won't be taken into consideration.

[@Uguguabbabaa]

I don't believe a word out of MaRo's lying snake mouth. Dude's a stooge through and through and the sooner people realize he's soulless flesh automaton the better.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oh yeah, I imagine you're right. But venting like this does make me feel better though

[@paolotedesco4238]

But if 99.9999% of players play commander, why defecate UB cards in all other formats? Would it be too much to have ONE format without that garbage?

[@the_step_dan323]

tbh i dont think UB actual gets more players, it just get more money out of existing players who are fans of that material, thats why LOTR sold well, bc the mtg and LOTR fanbase overlapped alot alread

[@onikwa]

​@@the_step_dan323 no I think it gets a lot of new customers buying cards as the main driver of growth, but I doubt it actually gets a lot of new PLAYERS. They probably just buy it to look at their favorite characters and references to whatever IP they are into, maybe try and play a game or two, and it goes straight on the collection shelf forever.

[@peskywombat4915]

The day I loose to a spider man card in mtg arena standard is probably the day I stop playing it altogether.

[@christopherb501]

*lose

[@tc5589-1]

So 2025 will be your last year of standard because that’s going to happen.

[@Jon_East]

​@@christopherb501 Don't be a jerk

[@RedBobcatGames]

I feel the same way. Honestly not sure what I'll do at that point. Like I said in the vid, you can't not engage with a set without really quitting the game totally

[@dreamwalking]

​@@Jon_East They did nothing rude.

[@ProfDragonite]

The Slippery Slope: it was NEVER a fallacy.

[@winter945]

The slippery slope is an informal fallacy, there can be times where there is one (a business seeing something makes them money and does that thing more) and times where there isn't (gay marriage will lead to marriage between people and dogs for an example that is very much not true)

[@Joural0401]

​​@@winter945People have litterally tried to use arguments used for gay marriage to support pedophilia. The slippery slope is, in theory, a tool for showing why an argument is flawed("if that's your basis, it can also support this"), not a prediction of the future or even necessarily an argument against something. I've pointed to both pro and anti abortion arguments as being victim to slippery slope because they were poorly constructed, for example. The problem is that people try to use slippery slope as objection and not warning. If I tell you you've stood on a slippery slope, I am not saying you're going to inevitably slide- I'm telling you to set your feet and guard against it.

[@RedBobcatGames]

And 2025's looking like more of the same!

[@marvelliog3067]

Do you think epilogue boosters got cancelled because of backlash or because people didn't buy them? I figured the most effective way to cut down all this extraneous stuff is to organize boycotts but it seems Magic influencers don't ever bring up ideas like that.

[@definitelynotmany4972]

Because people didn’t buy them. Cards were so expensive because nobody opened them.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Well it all goes hand in hand. Boycotts don't tend to work but marketing, both positive and negative can have a massive effect on whether people buy a set or not, which in turn affects sales numbers

[@definitelynotmany4972]

@ I beg to differ. People have been trying to boycott Secret Lairs/Universes Beyond for a long time, and they were still sold out. There is a reason we don’t have epilogue boosters anymore, but we do still have Universes Beyond/ Secret Lairs.

[@the_step_dan323]

​​@@definitelynotmany4972 yeah, w/o scalpers life would be better or if they printed Secret Lairs to demand like before, then their sales would reflect actual interest (or be more accurate)

[@liamthompson7853]

Influencers leaving the game doesn't typically lead to much more than their influence being severely reduced. See Reynad, Lifecoach, and plenty of other streamer influencers, versus the less influential people who stuck around through bad design choices, blocks, and standard eras. CGB, TCC, etc are all pretty vocal about not loving the new releases schedules... but not interacting with them will hurt them as creators significantly more than it will hurt the company. A mass movement might, but it is still a pyrrhic victory.

[@СырнаНе-Бака]

"Don't like it? Don't buy it!" Thanks. Now i know reasons why people don't want to play MTG except draft

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, that's basically the end point of that argument. Madness!

[@JaymesWinger]

Hard agree with all this. I read in a book one time that a pasta company was trying to find the "best" sauce and there are actually ~5 depending on personal taste. I feel the "no like, no buy" advice works for pasta sauce (and draft/sealed environments) but not for constructed MtG. Unlike pasta sauce, you can't pick it off the shelf and play with it as-is in a constructed format. Every card introduced into a format may be relevant to the larger format. Even if not intended (Ahem, Nadu). There's also a problem for WOTC in that they've created all these ancillary products like LOTR and Assassin's Creed to pull in new players. WOTC wants those new players to take up EDH, Modern, Standard, and Pauper to keep them coming back and buying more cards. To that end, WOTC can't afford to section off UB from constructed formats, and they're even incentivized to make at least a few cards from each IP impactful enough to be regularly played. *sigh* Aside: I appreciate MaRo, but from what I've read of his work, he spends most of his time playing new draft environments. So, he's not the best spokesperson when it comes to understanding constructed woes.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Didn't think I'd see a comparison between Magic and Pasta sauce in the comments, but I'm here for it

[@zeusalternative1270]

The most obvious problem with this argument is that even if I don't buy it my opponent could buy it and I'm at a disadvantage or engaging with product I don't like. The other argument I suscribe more to is that even if I don't buy it it influences the product I do buy, I'm a standard player and don't touch commander, several standard sets like Outlaws have a ton of janky multicolored legends, commander design philosophy is bleeding into other formats (remember Nadu) so I can't just ignore it, is also affecting my format.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, 100%. And now UB is legal in all formats so... what's that even going to look like as a set? Madness

[@zeusalternative1270]

@@RedBobcatGames I genuinely suppressed that, man standard is dying.

[@Magidex]

I also love how *explicitly* hated Aftermath was, and they have research that shows just how much... To the decimal.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Haha, yeah

[@happie6152]

I agree with most of the video, accessability and overload are valid criticisms, but the last bit on design doesn't make sense to me. Unless I misunderstood what you said, it felt like you were just saying "Don't print stuff that people might not like." I wasn't a fan of Duskmourn, and I don't really care about the big lore sets. Should they stop printing those and just make Bloomburrow 2? Where does that end? Can they ban off every board wipe because they feel bad to lose to? Does your experience matter more than mine's? It also isn't specifically a problem with the release schedule. Card that you don't like will be printed, no matter what, that's just how it is. It's impossible to print a set that appeals to everyone.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Well I'm not really speaking to WotC here at all in the video. None of what I say is intended to affect set design or release. Instead I'm talking to people who try to shut down others that have complaints. Whether WotC listen to those complaints or not is up to them, but I think it's important that the complaints are still heard. "Does your experience matter more than mine?" Well the answer to that is "Maybe, depending on the perspective you care about". From WotC's point of view, I suspect they care about the majority of players experiences, and so if my experience lines up with the majority and yours doesn't then yes that will matter more to WotC. Whether WotC go on to make changes based on that feedback or not is irrelevant to my point. I'm just saying it's important for them to have all the data before they make those choices, and they can't do that if some of the player base is attempting to silence the rest

[@fastydave]

Epilogue boosters failed not because people complained but because NOBODY BOUGHT THEM. You're money is louder than your voice.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Sure, but part of why no one bought them was because of the talk around them. Marketing works, that's why companies pay reviewers for positive reviews. Critisism of a bad product works the same in reverse. If it didn't we wouldn't have the advertising industry

[@broomguy7]

I took WotC advice and stopped playing Magic. Thanks Mark Rosewater!

[@RedBobcatGames]

Haha, fair

[@too·fkn·busy]

I think magic is no longer for me but I still enjoy it for what it was.

[@RedBobcatGames]

I'm starting to feel that way too

[@idanbhk3875]

The modern criticism at 5:11 is spot-on. That's why I liked and played modern, with an off-meta deck that's barely changed in about 10 years, and now I can't - because it's now essentially a rotating format, since MH 1-2-3 and LotR. It felt atrocious, seeing how my strong, fair deck that I've worked on for years was just power crept out of existence. Nadu wasn't even the main issue; MTG used to be, for me, about the joy of discovering how to connect different cards into synergy. Seeing how I can take a normal card, meant for standard, and find a cool use for it when combining it with cards in Modern or Commander. But if they make sets for Modern and Commander, then what's the point? That fun is dead. They killed it.

[@RedBobcatGames]

They said recently that they want to stop printing cards into modern, and so instead of making a modern masters set each year they're going to print 3 modern legal UB sets instead... yay? Problem somehow solved?

[@idanbhk3875]

@@RedBobcatGames ​ @RedBobcatGames Unless they undo several years of horrible treatment, I don't foresee modern ever going back to its days of glory. But at least they recognize the problem, a few years too late.

[@snowperez1864]

goodness, today's "I wanna talk about" was so menacing 💀

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, I knew I was bringing some spice here. I don't want to upset people, but I also knew what I was getting into. I just hate how often I'm seeing people try to silence criticism, you know?

[@Surfer669]

I just feel bad for people that I had a difficult time getting into MtG until lotr set came out, final fantasy comes out. Then, they want to join the Fandom only to see FIRE 🔥 EVERYWHERE. To these people, I'm sorry MtG is going through an identity crisis. 30 yos old is that time where people just fall into mid-life crisis. I ask them not to leave, stay & play some games. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is considering buying Hasbro...

[@the_step_dan323]

😂 yeah if Elon succeed were about to be 3 times as fucked up

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah. We sure do live in interesting times

[@geminisergal]

"dont like it dont play/buy it" people also tend to be the loudest anti-proxy people as well. so the biggest alternative to wasting money on things you either dont like or cannot afford also will trigger a salt response from them.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Preach!

[@daviddobson1659]

I'm sorry my bobcat friend, but you and everybody else seem to have missed a very important point here. Just because it's "not for you" - probably for financial reasons (cos hey the good cards are printed on a more expensive cardboard) - that does not mean you can ignore these cards when you find yourself playing against them on a game of commander. WOTC are ruthlessly exploiting pay to win where they can to the detriment of the game. It's not for you. Is their attempt to brainwash you in to accepting their monetisation of what was once a beautiful game.

[@daviddobson1659]

Actually you do about ten minutes in sorry!

[@BatCaveOz]

Did you watch the video?

[@RedBobcatGames]

@daviddobson1659 No need to apologise at all my friend. You're golden!

[@bartoffer]

If UB proves to be more successful than the baseline product, there's no particular logic that favors shirking it in favor of the original design. From a financial standpoint, you're replacing one product with a nearly-identical one which outsells it dramatically. 'Health of the game' depends on some proverbial tipping point, as design quality (and, frankly, art & story quality) were in seemingly-terminal decline well before UB released, and even then year after year the game was more popular than ever before. The idea is always that there's some fulcrum after which the game will crash and be abandoned - which isn't this one, wasn't this one, wasn't that one. The unfortunate reality is that when the mass-consumer-populace discovers your enjoyable IP or product, your best hope is that it never gets another entry. Because what's going to come out is going to be something designed for a fundamentally different, fundamentally easier-to-please audience. It happens in almost every medium, and in a way it requires a creative process almost wholly-insulated from consumer sentiment to avoid. Which very obviously is not modern Magic, much less Wizards.

[@yurisei6732]

People always talk about "the health of the game" in terms of profit growth, as if that isn't exactly how one would measure the health of a tumour. More players and more money makes MTG worse - as the years keep proving. The tipping point is not "when MTG will stop living", it's "when all that's left living in MTG is the sickness".

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, you're not wrong. Though I think about how much WotC are paying out in licensing fees, and have to wonder how much of that could have been spent on full time writers and world builders

[@bartoffer]

@@yurisei6732 Well, yes, you would measure health of a franchise in terms of how much money it brings in if you need to pay a large staff of people earning well above the median wage alongside significant benefits. If my playerbase is growing, and they are spending more, why would I have any reason to care that some slice of the playerbase doesn't like the new tone? That's why it's important to learn to let go, unless you like rolling boulders up cliffsides. This is hardly the first game/IP to drink from the cursed chalice of consumerism. If you aren't having fun, why bother?

[@bartoffer]

​@@RedBobcatGames The trouble is that the licensing fees out-earn hiring on more staff and probably involve less headache. When Hasbro/WOTC started layoffs after the interest rate hike in '22 (like most overstaffed-industries that loaded up on debt), there was a furor about it without much return. For all the kicking and screaming about Spongebob, it's probably going to sell out and more than make up for that initial cost. The trouble, which is too boring for most people to stomach, is that this industry has so loaded itself up on bad debt and bad bets that it now has to prioritize the nigh-endless capital streams from consumerists over its original core and dedicated playerbase in order to stay afloat, and there really is no other avenue to address it. It's a pretty mundane story in the world of entertainment, really.

[@yurisei6732]

@@bartoffer "The tumour is growing, and the tumour is OK with that, so you should let go". Of course the tumour is OK with growing. I don't respect the insinuation that I should be happy about cancer.

[@ZeIose]

I was kind of surprised at the intro. Maybe I’m out of touch but I feel like there are so so few people that feel like the “if you don’t like it then doing buy it” attitude wizards has adopted is good or is an actual answer. I think it feels bad because for a time, every one was able to participate with nearly every product. Now almost no one can. It’s a TCG but I see almost no trading. And almost no collect. And certainly not on the scale of current yugioh and Pokémon or even other card games. Trading, collecting, the game play. All of these is what magic great to me. But 2 of these aspects are just gone now… EDIT: Even the 30th anniversary event was not for us. Almost no one could participate in celebrating in our games anniversary celibration… who was it for if not for us?

[@davidhouseman4328]

It's a good answer to me. I know people have different tastes to me. A variety will mean I'll get some sets a love and I am happy just to buy them. I miss trading but frankly that died many years ago with the huge singles market.

[@RedBobcatGames]

I hear people say it a lot, and not even just through the lens of youtube or as a content creator. I hear people say it in response to everything from power creep to box prices, and I just think it's a rubbish thing to say to someone who's unhappy. Hence the vid haha

[@ZeIose]

@@RedBobcatGames maybe I’m in my own little echo chamber then. I thought for sure almost every one was just as unhappy with the all the things I too am unhappy about in terms of WoTC…

[@RedBobcatGames]

WotC have done a lot to upset many players, but just reading my comments alone there will always be people who don't want to engage with any kind of issue and want everyone to not engage either. It's a shame, because feedback and criticism is the only way to prevent WotC from being worse next time

[@ZeIose]

@@RedBobcatGames I think WotC doesn’t even care about feed back or criticism or let’s be honest, it’s reputation any more. I think our only option is voting with our wallet. And we e seen that work. But we arnt voting in solidarity.

[@phrsngx5675]

I think the fatal flaw with the "UB makes money!" argument is that UB is NOT a single thing. Yeah I like Final Fantasy but I'm tired of Marvel slop. So I'm not buying ANY of the sets: the cost of playing Final Fantasy cards is pitting them against Spider-Man and Spongebob cards. I'm good, hard pass. Also!!!! If you look at products like "Clue" or "Monopoly", the IP-flavored versions are very self-contained. You're not mixing Friends with Harry Potter. IMO they're underestimating how weirded out most regular people are by the concept of mixing incompatible franchises. Despicable Me movies make a lot money, 007 movies make a lot money, buy you probably won't see Minions in a James Bond movie any time soon.

[@davidhouseman4328]

I don't think they are underestimating people. They are learning from experience. There always been discontinuity from changing planes. Equipment brought giving a sword to your creature without hands.

[@RedBobcatGames]

@davidhouseman4328 Oh sure, but at least in that example they're still making an attempt at least

[@IMatchoNation]

"You criticize Magic: The Gathering yet you participate in it. Curious" - Matt Bors' famous comic, applied to sycophants for this game.

[@Red-yt2dk]

Your point isn't very clear here, of what stance you're supposedly mocking.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, I love the game. Doesn't mean I have to accept it and can't expect it to be better though

[@seantaft3853]

I'm already in that boat. It's not often I get anything sealed for Magic. I usually get singles, and I basically get sealed products if there is a specific reason to get it.

[@tc5589-1]

Buying the singles still motivates resellers to buy the boxes in bulk to get the singles. Proxies are the way to vote with your dollar. Saves you money, doesn’t stimulate the magic economy, lets you use the cards.

[@RedBobcatGames]

I honestly think proxies and kitchen table will be the future for most magic players

[@DanielStewart-fc5ki]

I like complaining but it doesn't actually get any results. They didn't discontinue epilog boosters because people complained, it's because no one bought them. If the SpongeBob secret lair didn't sell they'd stop doing it, but it will sell and they'll keep doing it.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Well, sure. But then you have to ask why Epilogue boosters didn't sell. I'd say a large part of why people were put off of it is because of the community sentiment. Everyone was talking about how much hot garbage it was. Marketing works, it's why companies spend so much on advertising. And sometimes, the negative equivilent works too

[@okeytay4]

You already make great videos, but this is your most well thought out and best video!! I'm sure I've said *those words* at some point, but you've genuinely made me think about this, and I'll do my best to not ever say them again at least in this context. I think there are other things that don't relate to consumerism that it is perfectly reasonable to say an equivalent to "then just don't buy it", and actually should have an equivalent of *those words* said, but I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to fans of a product voicing their concerns. Thanks, and great work!

[@RedBobcatGames]

No worries, and thank you. And of course you're right. I focused on one instance of saying "Just don't buy it" here, but there will always be times when that's good advice. I've probably said it myself more than once. In fact I think that was my suggestion around Value Boosters

[@danilzashikhin3591]

quitting magic turned out to be very fun for me. just take some pop corn and wait until magic dies.

[@RedBobcatGames]

If Elon does as he's saying and buys Hasbro, I may do just that

[@dojelnotmyrealname4018]

I mean this argument is a great indicator that a product is gonna absolutely bomb on the market.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oh I dunno. Every set they make seems to sell like hot cakes somehow. Even the ones that bomb at release uptick later. It's mad

[@the_step_dan323]

if WoTC started listening to the community maybe, but we'll see in the end ig, wont we

[@HauntedCorpseGaming]

The challenge is that I play the cards for the rules that are written on them so if its an IP I think is ridiculous BUT it works in the deck because of its rules I might throw a "Insert Silly Yellow Sponge IP" into my deck as a result. So I may heavily dislike the silly IP (art,etc) but I'll still buy/play the card for its rules. 2:40 - The LOTR release felt like this because it seemed to stay around for awhile...... Bloomborrow could have been WotC's longer term set and given time to breath with its nifty setting BUT they were in too much of a hurry to replace it, then replace the thing that replaced it.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, completelty. And also I imagine most players are like yourself in that they're not that interested in the IP of the card. But for someone like me that's such a shame, because Magic's lore could be so good! I wish they'd put more focus on it, so that maybe more people actually would start to care

[@Pighway]

This has changed my outlook on engaging with complaints. This is a good video.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oh why thank you. I knew I was coming in hot with that intro, but the point of the vid is supposed to be a positive one so I'm glad that seemingly came across

[@williamhayduk6865]

The first minute hit me like a truck and im here for it. Love your content

[@RedBobcatGames]

Haha, thank you. Glad you... enjoyed?

[@williamhayduk6865]

@RedBobcatGames definitely enjoyed!

[@Tubluer]

So, WoTC has doubled down on UB. From this day forward, my only interaction with MTG will be watching videos and commenting on them. No more purchases, no more card games, no more collecting. Done. Finito. Adios.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Very fair. Well I hope I continue to entertain as I ride this out to the end (or until I get fed up haha)

[@tylerfoster2814]

Wonderful video with well-reasoned arguments. Thank you for being a force for the preservation of the game.

[@RedBobcatGames]

No no, thank you for watching!

[@dendostar5436]

I’m halfway through and this is a slam dunk.👍

[@RedBobcatGames]

Why thank you very much

[@BudgetPubStomper-lr7nh]

Dude!… SICK! You know the thing people do w shorts that makes it seem to make sense going in a loop? Those are basically “dick jokes” almost “dad jokes” THIS VIDEO was the grown up and thoughtful version of that. I’m sure not everyone who watched it caught it or appreciated it. I’m a content creator too so I wanted to let you know.. some of us will get it. And I, for one, totally appreciated it. Now, if only someone would tell me to just not buy universes beyond.😉

[@RedBobcatGames]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed

[@Rabidconscience]

Yeah I also hate this non-reply people give. I boycotted magic for 3 years hoping it would change. It didn’t. It requires enough people to agree not to buy it for not buying it to work.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Well I'm out here kicking up a stink. I don't know it will affect a change, but it certainly makes me feel better

[@the_step_dan323]

i wish magic creators were able to be as loud as dnd creators, when Hasbro/WotC tried to change the OGL everyone imeadiately spoke up and were unified against it, yet for some reason the mtg community cant? im sure many if not most creators share the same sentiments but its as you say, people arent working together and so there isnt enough power to make the change

[@TheMorbidHobo]

The only product in 2025 wotc is making I MIGHT get is the Tarkir set prerelease. That's it. I used to go to every prerelease, buy precons, and buy singles, now I will only be going to maybe one prerelease per year.

[@RedBobcatGames]

I'm looking forward to Innistrad Remastered. Everything I'm not sold on yet

[@ogre7699]

The mentality of "don't like it? don't buy/watch it" is one I don't always get, and it's usually something commonly said by people that likely have room temperature IQ, because they can't handle the thought of anyone having criticisms about a product they found to be flawed. This isn't always the case, but more often than not, this kind of mentality is common with those kinds of people. It's not something you can just say to someone half the time to magically dispel all criticisms regarding a certain thing, because it implies that the fella with said criticisms isn't a fan of said thing to begin with, when it's more likely that they are, and they care enough to warrant making a point to begin with, because they're not pleased with where subject thing is headed, or what it's doing. And sometimes, that kind of mentality makes little sense as well. For example, imagine telling a Star Wars enjoyer that thought the Sequel Trilogy was shite, that the Sequel Trilogy was not for them. So if it wasn't for fucking STAR WARS FANS, then who was it for? This is a question they won't answer because more than likely, they don't know the answer to it. There's some good exceptions though, like voting with your wallet and choosing to not support certain things financially altogether, in a form of protest. For example, I gave up on Activision Blizzard games after coming to the realisation that they are not getting any better anytime soon. I stopped enjoying their products, so I stopped buying them altogether. The same can be said for MTG. There's a lot of stuff they're putting out that I just don't like, or isn't for me personally, so I don't buy into it. But when they do come out with something worth my time, like Foundations, I'm more than willing to buy it, because I actually care about it. Hilariously, some of the same people that would tell you that a product was not made for you, will probably eventually regret that decision when someone decides "good idea, I won't support the thing." I've seen examples of this, and it's just funny to watch. It's a really weird mentality that I just don't fully understand quite yet, and probably never will. But I think it's safe to say that I've not often seen these words specifically used for anything meaningful, other than just telling some guy his thoughts are invalid and that he should shut up, which is not exactly helpful nor insightful. I know it's slightly off topic from MTG, but this thing is rather universial and isn't just present in MTG discourse. It's fucking everywhere, and it's annoying.

[@Joural0401]

It's worse than that tbh. It's the clarion call of the consoomer. They genuinely don't understand that you might love and care about something but do so because of what it is and not because of what it's called. It's why star wars fans were lambasted for critiquing nu wars, for example. Some people simply can't grasp that a thing is more than the label on the tin.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Slightly off topic also, but Star Wars lost me when Disney decided the expanded universe wasn't canon anymore, because honestly Knights of the Old Republic was the best Star Wars media going

[@ogre7699]

@@RedBobcatGames I'm more of a casual fan in that regard, so can't speak too much on that, but I do agree they did the EU a bit dirty, especially when they bring some characters out from there, just to do them dirty. I will never forgive them for what they did to Scorch. Absolutely wasted the guy. Never played Republic Commando, but from what I understand of those games, yeah, I see why fans were pissed.

[@westinrick802]

Your videos are always well spoken. I agree with your sentiments.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Why thank you very much!

[@LucyBean42]

What if I DO like it, but WOTC fuxed up and made it too expensive or limited to be available? I liked 30th Ed, would have bought it if it weren't 250 a pack.

[@yurisei6732]

Then you can proxy it.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, proxy is the way to go then I feel

[@Joural0401]

"months and months and months" "4 per year" Okay so even being extremely generous, months and months and months has to be atleast six months, right? Because "2 months and 2 months and 2 months" is the only way it can be accurate. So... No. Not even months and months. On average, three months. Also imagine being wotc and acting like it's a bad thing players got excutited for the "momentus event" of you putting out new things to buy

[@BatCaveOz]

I'm sure that you are heaps of fun at dinner parties.

[@thebigsquig]

Months and months and months bothered me too. When it was 4 sets a year sets were 10-11 weeks apart.

[@RedBobcatGames]

@Joural0401 Spot on, and this is what rubs me up the wrong way about the statement. In that instance, it was just an excuse to cover the fact they're trying to squeeze people for as much money as possible

[@JShann04]

I'm sorry, but this video is a poor refutation of "don't like, don't buy." It's less about the fact that there are outside forces that can still more highly impact the market for cards, and thereby how much power individuals have in their specific wallet being heard by WOTC, and more about "woe is meeeee, I don't want to looooooosssssssseeeeee. What about my cardboard crack addiction?" Here's a lesson. Every statement you make is modified by the sacrifices you are willing to make to state it. You want WOTC to bow to you, but you're not even willing to take some Ls from overpowered shit, so you pay to buy the same overpowered shit. You want WOTC to bow to you, but you still end up at your game night, providing the game with financial and cultural importance. Maybe WOTC would reconsider their strategy if the multiple creators I see make videos and the people in the comments could actually organize not to play, or buy, or even look into Magic as a game for like, 6 months. Let WOTC start to have issues filling up tournament positions, let local gaming stores have issues seating people on game nights for Magic. Yeah, it will hurt, it will hurt the hobby, it will be difficult personally. But it's going to have to, otherwise nothing is going to change. And you can think about your lack of willingness to sacrifice anything when you're sitting across from the next freaking "Bluey" secret lair bullshit canine deck.

[@RedBobcatGames]

I mean I suspect things will go that way anyway. Historically boycotts don't tend to work all that often, but I'm not opposed to the idea. Though I do believe WotC would learn all the wrong lessons

[@Frogleeoh]

Not wanting to buy a product of a game you otherwise tremendously enjoy IS the problem, not the solution. Secret layers and other smaller side things like that don't matter so much in that regard, as they are indeed easy and painless skips for all of those except the specific type of person they are for, but it does still contribute to the overload problem for those who want or need to stay on top of every new card or product for one reason or another. However, when looking forward to a year with standard set after standard set that you just don't want to interact with, despite your head-over-heels love of magic otherwise, yeah, that's when not wanting to buy a product becomes THE problem, even for those who just wish to play kitchen table magic.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, 100%. Totally agree

[@louieluigi3914]

"If the game isn't fun, why bother"

[@RedBobcatGames]

Well that's the issue, the game is still fun. I just wish it wasn't so... much to think about / inaccessible / designed around stuff I'm not a fan of

[@weystrom]

I just figured out how to print cards at awesome quality for 0,17eu a piece, so that's what I'm going to be doing going forwards.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Sick. Good on you!

[@styfen]

Yup. I didn't like Duskmorne (Duskmourn?) Apart from the villain, so I skipped it and now Standard is already miserable and awful for me to play cause I and my pre-duskmoore collection (with foundations) can't keep up with the pushed cards in that set. I guess as a lifelong standard player who couldn't keep up with the release schedule "sTaNdArD is'Nt fOr mE."

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, it's maddening

[@arrowrandoman]

"If you don't like it, don't buy it" is indeed a problem, but I imagine it's worse for new players who want to explore every set coming out to figure out what they like. How do they get into the game without getting overwhelmed? I mean, I've come back to Magic over the last few months, and I've seen things move so quickly. The two big : dealing with the daft that deck building is an individual format while playing those decks is multiplayer, and WOTC is saturating the MtG sphere with so much stuff hoping something makes money. It's rough to see an IP I loved shift so much into something I don't recognize, and to be told by those who make the game that I should treat it casually is weird.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, it's total maddness honestly

[@DjTrustNo.1]

A marvelous constructive ramble, i tip my hat to you! Points well made, i enjoyed this presentation and approve of many takes!

[@RedBobcatGames]

Why thank you very much!

[@andrewtweedley3648]

You had me when you put all that one piece media in the example

[@lcronovt]

I wish I could send this video to my MtG groups, but they kicked me out for point things like this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in the matter.

[@RedBobcatGames]

That sucks to hear, but you're more than welcome

[@jonathanmcmahon9138]

Thanks for this. Very well articulated and thought out, and was helpful to solidify how I feel about the state of the game.

[@RedBobcatGames]

You're more than welcome, it's what I'm here for

[@erickschusterdeoliveira2662]

I hadn't thought about the line between "not wanting to play against X" and "X becoming banned" being related to things besides game mechanics. It's a very interesting line of thought, glad you brought it up. Leyline of Resonance got banned in BO1 Standard because it's unfun, well it's unfun having to deal with Marvel shit.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yes, and yet for some reason some will tell you that you're not allowed to complain about that

[@rovelfox7832]

To me, "Just don't buy it" is almost the same as telling someone to just stop playing the game. I've been playing since Kamigawa (the first one) and have played Commander, Modern, Pioneer, and standard and when one got unbearable I could just go to the others. If a set didn't interest me or tie into my deck archetypes, I ignored it. Now every set other than Bloomburrow hasn't interested me and the meta in all the formats I played is strangled by cards I find mechanically boring, achetypeless, and way too expensive to even consider buying. I can't afford a mana crypt, guess all my commander decks are worse by default. I can't afford Sheoldred or the one ring, guess all my constructed decks are worse by default. At least the eldrazi winter was strangled by a deck archetype rather than single must have cards in every deck. So yeah, I don't like it so I'm not going to buy it, and I'm not going to play it either at this point. Clearly Magic as a product wasn't made for me.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Yeah, I feel you totally. I feel like I'm in the same kind of boat and it sucks because I love this game

[@VoiceOfMaddness]

Solid video 👍 ive been playing magic for about a year but I'm already tired.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Ha! Thank you, and yeah it's only getting worse

[@emporer15]

A few years ago I was one of the target audience who was brought into MTG commander because of the Tyranid Warhammer 40k deck. I now fully understand why players say some products are just too much.

[@RedBobcatGames]

And they just keep printing more and more

[@denisskenderovic3707]

Great job! I have a burning hate for arguments like that one. Is so higher-than-thou and holds no ground. I always end the discussiom there because people who use it are obvious knobs and time on them is wasted.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Some people repeat it thoughtless too I think. They don't mean to be rude and dismissive. I think they just have heard the line so many times they're repeating it without understand what it is they're saying, you know?

[@DilanQuill]

I like how Aaron Foresythe gets introduced to a new format and the first deck he builds has armageddon in it and he doesn't understand why that's a problem.

[@Chewy-Pudding]

Commander is the only bizarro world format where playing legal cards in your deck can be considered "a problem."

[@Red-yt2dk]

Land destruction is a legal strategy. It's scrub mentality to categorically ban it.

[@RedBobcatGames]

But it serves my point though, that everyone's perspective of what the game "should be" is vastly different

[@idanbhk3875]

@@Chewy-Pudding Yes, human beings are social, not just game-theory machines. Truly a bothersome issue.

[@simonchi5372]

might explain why every format is kind of miserable to play at this point. And it's definitely not Armageddon as a card but the whole design mentality of not letting others play the game against you and close the door as fast as possible seems to definitely be a thing they design for lately. Like aggro being able to beat you on t2-3 in standard is just stupid and bad design.

[@Sombrare0]

Obviously can't speak for others, but when I use this phrase it's when I'm being positive about something like UB and then someone else starts complaining about it for the umpteenth time. I just want to tell them to shut the fuck up, not every thread needs to be negative, but that's rude so I use this phrase instead.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Right, but it's thinly veiled and you are still just telling people to shut up by saying it. Up to you if you're comfortable with that, but honestly I think even negative feedback is always worth hearing and it's not great to guilt people into silence for being upset about something

[@ytimksydney]

I've disagreed with things you have mentioned in other videos, but this was a great video, cheers mate

[@RedBobcatGames]

No worries, and like I said in the vid, disagreement is always welcome!

[@BlightDragonBrewery]

You have to engage with UB whether you like it or not when they throw super powerful cards into every UB set and force it down your throat by putting into every format forcing you to interact with it or be left behind. It’s impossible to keep up with it. Oh and also they’ll go out of their way to make the UB sets look as good as can be to please investors and people they’ve partnered with.

[@simplegarak]

This why i love KeyForge a little bit more every day. You can buy as many or few decks as you want to play. Now yes, if you don't want to play Grim Reminders, you don’t have to buy any. True your opponent might bring a deck of it to a tournament. But there's also enough tournament formats out there you can mitigate that too.

[@RedBobcatGames]

I haven't played KeyForge in forever! I didn't even know it was still going. That's awesome to hear. I really enjoyed what I played of it

[@simplegarak]

@@RedBobcatGames it came back! It's latest expansion is crowdfunding right now in fact. LMK if you'd ever like to talk more about it. (we can even do some games online) But they've also done the equivalent of "un" sets (special decks) which are not tournament legal, so it's like... a rule zero all the time. "We doing something unhinged or something sensible? Super power decks or medium? Dud deck switch? etc"

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oh that's cool. I may have to dig out my old decks again

[@grip7777]

I'd say that aesthetics is where I draw the line, because a mechanic can be unfun to play against, but you can actually ask people to play decks without mld, mill or infect for instance, but it's much harder to ask people to play decks without dr who cards in them (because it makes me feel like we are playing a mix of battlestar galactica, 2 kinds of monopoly and wyrmspan when looking at a commander table). There is also an element of "sucking it up" a bit when talking about mechanics because at some point when you have housebanned the 50th card that says counterspell or remove creature you have to realize that the game is trying to tell you something. I usually think about the old vorinclex, voice of hunger that I have seen discourse aroung being awful to play against, and to me it reads that it has to be removed and the player removing it pays double for that removal over 2 turns, which is good, but not gamebreaking in any way. You can tell me to shut up on this one as well because it is subjective in a way, but I think there is an argument for everyone being able to play strategies that win the game and that you can't always be mad someone using a strategy that you do not like. To be clear, I think it's fine to prefer not playing against certain things, but if you get triggered by counterspell or removal then I personally don't want to play with you.

[@RedBobcatGames]

I mean, that's sort of my point though. Everyone's different, and everyone finds something different fun. But in that same sense, everyone's going to find something different that they want to complain about too. And I think that's good. Nothing is above reproach, and genuine critical feedback can improve upon anything. The only time I would tell someone to shut up is if they've said it to me first

[@grip7777]

@ fair enough

[@marcobiraghi]

"Don't like it? Don't buy it" is peak NPC energy.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Actually, kinda yeah

[@muscifede]

I prefer the phrase, vote with your wallet. if you keep buying the same things, wotc won't change

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oh yeah, 100% But I like to think community feedback plays a role in it too. They know when we'r unhappy. Now whether they care of course...

[@empurress77]

I very much agree with pretty much everything! In paper my house rules are great. Knowing the house rules for everyone else i play with is great. On Magic Arena however... I do wish there were a way to "House rule" no poison. no Slivers and no opponent discards et. It would save me the bother of quitting out of those games as i just do not find those cards in any way fun.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Oh yeah. I believe MTGO lets you build custom formats, but it is a shocker that it's not on Arena

[@jackthecoolkid1995]

Wonderfully said, Great video indeed.

[@RedBobcatGames]

Why thank you very much